Freight vehicle wall construction



i mi.

April 3o, 1963 H.B.MART1N 3,087,441

FREIGHT VEHICLE WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 28, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 s "l "nl WI ,In I' V i .Il

l il

April 30, 1963 H. B. MARTIN 3,087,441

FREIGHT VEHICLE WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed sept. 28. 1954 2M mi. |||I 11%!1111'2'1111111Aluminum111 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 30, 1963 H. B. MARTIN FREIGHT VEHICLE WALL CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 28. 1954 United States Patent O 3,637,441 FREIGHT VEHICLE WALL CGNSTRUCTHN Howard B. Martin, Butler, Pa., assigner to Pullman-Staudard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ell., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 28, 1954, Sex'. No. 458,872 1 Claim. (Cl. 10S-499) This invention relates to freight vehicle walls and is primarily concerned with a method of forming a railway freight car side wall.

The principal object of the inventori is to provide a method of forming a freight vehicle wall from a metal sheet and a rolled bottom member and a rolled top member which will enable' the edges of the members to be satisfactorily welded automatically to the edges of the sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a freight vehicle wall having a plurality of posts each being provided with recesses to receive the welds joining the edges of the top and bottom members to the edges of the sheeting.

A further object of the invention is to provide a freight vehicle wall having a plurality of vertically disposed metal sheets secured together and a plurality of spaced posts secured to the sheets and each post bearing against only one ofthe sheets.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained by the construction and arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the iirst step in the assembling of a side wall for a railway covered hopper car;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the second step in the assembling of theI side wall;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the completed side wall;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 3 and showing the edge of one ange of the top chord welded to the edges of the side sheets;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3 and showing the edge of one llange of the side sill welded to the edges of the side sheets;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of FlG. 3;

yFIG. 7 is a sectional View taken on the line 7 7 of FIG. 3;

FiG. 8 is a cross-sectional view through the top chord showing the strip that was sheared olf from one of its flanges; and

FG. 9 is a cross-sectional view through the side sill showing the strip that was sheared off from one of its flanges.

The invention proposes a method of forming a freight vehicle side wall from metal side sheeting and a rolled side sill and a rolled top chord so that these three cornponents may be satisfactorily welded together automatically. The edge of one flange of the side sill is sheared olf for the major portion of its length so that the reduced portion of the flange will be of a uniform width. The edge of one flange of the top chord is also sheared off for the major portion of its length so that the reduced portio-n of the ange will be of a uniform width. The edges of the flanges of the side sill and top chord are then automatically welded to the lower and upper edges `of the side sheeting respectively. The shearing olf of the edges of the banges of the side sill and top chord enables the side sill and top chord to be satisfactorily welded to the side sheeting automatically. Automatic welding enables mass production of the side walls and saves time and results in a great reduction in the cost of the side walls.

In the drawings, 10 generally designates a freight vehicle side wall shown in the drawings and described in the ICS following detailed description as a side wall for a railway covered hopper car. The side wall 10 is comprised of a rolled metal angle side sill 11 having a cutout 12 in one flange thereof which begins at a location adjacent to and spaced from one end of the flange and extends the major portion of the length of the llange and terminates at a location adjacent to and spaced from the outer end of the ange. A plurality of vertically disposed metal sheets 13 are arranged in edge-to-edge relation and are welded together by welds 14 and small trapezoidal-shaped metal sheets 15 have their longest edges welded to the edges of the endmost sheets '13 :by welds 14. The lower edges of the sheets 13 are disposed in the cutout 12 in the ange of the side sill 11 and are welded to the edge of the reduced ange portion of the side sill by a weld 16. A rolled rnetal bulb angle top chord 17 has a cutout 13 in the wider or plain flange thereof similar to the cutout 12 which begins adjacent one end of the flange and extends the major portion of the length of the ange and terminates adjacent the other end of the flange. The upper edges of the sheets 13 are disposed in the cutout 1S in the flange of the top chord 17 and are welded to the edge of the reduced flange portion of the top chord by a weld 19. The top chord 17 is tilted outwardly so that the roof of a covered hopper car which is higher at its center than at its sides may be placed at on the other flange of the top chord and welded to the top chord. A plurality of vertically disposed spaced metal posts Ztl hat-shaped in cross section extend `from the side sill 11 to the top chord 17. Each post 20 is pressed inwardly at locations adjacent to and spaced from its lower and upper ends to form recesses 21 extending transversely of the post. The recess Z1 at the lower end of each post 20 receives the weld 16 joining the side sill 11 to the sheets 13 and the recess at the upper end of each post receives the weld 19 joining the top chord 17 to the sheets. The recesses 21 are provided in the posts 20 so .that the posts will bear flatly against the vertical flange of the side sill 11 and against the sheets 13, and the upper ends of the posts are bent slightly outwardly as at 22 so as to bear flatly against the flanges of the top chord 17.

It is to be noted that while none of the posts 20 bears against the central sheet 13 and two posts bear against the other inner sheets and only one post bears against the endmost sheets, each post bears against only one of the sheets, that is, no one post bears against two sheets, so that the welds 14 are not covered and are left visible for inspection. Each post 201 is welded to the vertical ange of the side sill 11 and to the sheet 13 and to the flanges of the top chord 17. A pair of vertically disposed metal posts or channels 23 are positioned over the joints between the endmost sheets 13 and the sheets 15, and extend from the side sill 11 to the top chord 17 and the upper ends of the channels terminate at a location spaced below the web of the top chord. The lower end of each channel 23 is offset as at 24 and the upper end of each channel is bent outwardly as at 25 so that the channels will bear flatly against the vertical flange of the side sill 11, against the sheets 13 and 15, and against the wider flange of the top chord 17, to all of which they are welded.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the thickness of the opstanding flange of the sill 11 and of the downwardly projecting flange of the top chord 17 is greater than that of the sheets 13 and 1'5. The sheets and flanges are abutted with the inner surfaces of the sheets and flanges `substantially flush or coplanar, so that no offset, ledge or shoulder, either upwardly facing or downwardly facing, is formed on the inner wall surface. The welds 16 and 19 cover the shoulders formed by the excess tlange thickness on the outer surface of the wall. The crimping or odsetting of the posts, best shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and y6, permits the attachment flanges thereof to be brought into snug, flat engagement with the sheets preparatory to the welding operation, so that the sheets may be maintained flat, smooth and undistorted if desired.

The method of forming the side wall is as follows: First, the sheets 13 and 1S are placed in a jig having automatic welding equipment and the edges of the sheets 113 and 15 are automatically welded together by welds 14, as best shown in FIG. 1. The side sill 11 is placed in a shearing machine and the machine is set so that a denite width of flange will be left on the side sill and the strip 26 is sheared off the flange of the side sill, so ythat the reduced portion of all of the flanges of all side sills used in the automatic welding jig will be of a uniform width and the cut edge portion of the flange is flat and square, as best shown in FIG. 9. When the strip 26 is sheared off the flange of the side sill 11, the cutout 12 is formed. Thetop chord 17 has also been placed in a shearing machine and the machine is set so that a definite width of the wider flange will be left on the top chord and the strip 27 is sheared off the wider flange of the top chord, so that the reduced portion of all of the flanges of all top chords used in the automatic Welding jig will be of a uniform Width and the cut edge portion of the flange is flat as best shown in FIG. 8. When the strip 27 is sheared off the flange of the top chord 17, the cutout 18 is formed. Of course, the flanges may be cut by a flame or other means instead of by a shearing machine. Next, the side sill 11 and the top chord ,17 are placed inthe jig with the cut edges abutting the bottom and top edges of the sheets, and the square cut edge of the flange of the side sill is welded to the bottom edge of the sheets V13 and the cut edge of the flange of the top chord is welded to the top edges of the Ysheets 13 and 15,l as best Ashown in FIG. 2. Next, the posts 20 and the channels 23 are placed in the jig overlying the sheets, and the posts 20 are welded to the side sill 11, sheets 13, and top chord 17, and the channels are welded to the side sill, sheets 13 and 15, and the top chord to complete the side wall 10. Automatic welding is preferably employed, except within the angle of the top chord, or in other words above the longitudinal weld 19, where manual welding may be employed. Since the flanges of the side sill .11 and the top chord 17 are not reduced at their end portions, the required number of bolt holes may still be drilled for securing the side wall 1) to the adjacent parts of the car even though the flanges are cut away for the major portions of their lengths.

The recess v21 in the lower end of each post 20 spaces the post flanges slightly from the vertical flange of the side sill 11 and the adjacent sheet 13 and the recess in the upper end of each post similarly spaces the post flanges slightly from the adjacent sheet and the adjacent flange of the top chord 17. This space provided by the recesses 21 in the posts 20 make it impossible for the Welder to weld over the weld 16 when welding the posts to the side sill 11 and sheets |13 and similarly the Welder cannot weld over the weld 19 when welding the posts to the top chord 17 and the sheets. With the recesses 21 in the posts 2i) the welder is forced to stop the vertical welds on the posts above the below the horizontal welds 16 and 19. Without the recesses 2-1 there is danger of the welder extending the vertical welds so that they touch or cross the horizontal welds. Experience has shown that this is undesirable because of the resulting stress concentration. If the recesses 21 in the posts 20 were not provided, the horizontal welds -16 and 19 would have to be ground down so that the posts could be placed flat against the sheets 13. Such grinding would weaken the joint between side sill 11 and sheets 13 and the joint between the sheets and top chord 17 at the locations of the posts 20, besides adding to the time and labor involved in securing the posts.

lf special top chords are purchased by the builder of the side wall, with the top flange at an angle less than ninety degrees with the other flange this special type of top chord would be a costly item. If top chords are purchased by the builder of the side wall with their flanges ninety degrees apart and then reformed to bend the top flange downwardly so that it is at an angle less than ninety degrees with the other flange, this would also mean extra cost to the builder. The tilting of the top `chord outwardly so that the roof of the car lies flat on the top lflange of the top chord means that no special type of top chords have to be purchased by the builder of the side wall and no bending operations have to be performed o-n the top chord by the builder, thereby reducing the cost of 4building the side wall, while providing the advantage in a covered car of having the sloping roof lie ilat on the top chord.

As stated, the side sill and top chord are rolled sections, and rolled sections as received from the mills do not have uniform dimensions. The widths of the flanges of rolled sections of the dimensions employed `for the side sill and top chord have a tolerance of plus or minus one-eighth of an inch. Thus, if the flanges of both the side sill and the top chord were one-,eighth of an inch over the nominal widths, the jig would have to be set up to allow for onefourth inch additional depth of the side wall. During the forming of a number of side walls, again, one would expect to run .into a case Where the actual widths of sboth the side sill and top chord were minus one-eighth of an inch, which would provide an excess of one-half inch in the jig set up width over the actual side wall height, which would have to be welded up and which would be a completely unsatisfactory condition. By shearing the flanges of the side sill and top chord, the reduced flanges will be of a definite fixed width which permits accurate jigging `and clamping thus providing practically perfect gaps for the butt welds.

The shearing of the strips olf the flanges of the side sill and top chord means not only that the side sill and top chord can be satisfactorily welded yautomatically to the side sheets. in a jig, but also that strong -Welds will be made between the side sill Vand side sheets and the top chord and side sheets, and that every side wall produced will be of the same height or depth, thus improving the quality of the side walls.

The edges of the flanges of rolled -sections are not uni- -form as to contour. They can come `from perfectly round to practically flat and vary from end to end of the length of the section. Thus the edges of the flanges of the side sill and top chord could not be satisfactorily automatically welded to the edges of the side sheeting, since this would provide a condition making it impossible to set the automatic welding machine, which must move at a uniform rate of speed and `deposit a uniform amount of weld metal. -By shearing off a portion of one flange of the side sill or the top chord, a uniform joint space and shape is provided which is ideal yfor automatic welding.

T-he edges of rolled sections often have laminations and foldovers of metal which open up and sometimes entirely separate during the course of the welding operations. The shearing operation on the side sill and top chord removes any larninated areas or foldovers, thus saving a tremendous amount of repair work after the automatic welding.

The edges of rolled sections also usually carry a deposit of hard mill scale which is practically impossible to eliminate without heavy sand or shot blasting. The shear ing operation on the side sill and the top chord provides a clean bare edge that is very neces-sary to successful automatic welding.

A lapped joint that is welded is not too satisfactory because of eccentricity and because two welds close together in a lap joint introduce a tremendous amount of shrinkage stress. In the present invention, the side sill and the top chord are butt-welded to the side sheeting. The butt weld in applicants side wall is ideal for strength because it eliminates the eccentricity in the connection and provides something that is lfree to float in the welding operation and eliminates all shrinkage stresses. The butt joints, by the elimination o-f eccentricity and the eXtra heating required by the extra welding on -a lap joint, reduce the amount of buckling in the side wall. The present side wall if used on a coal hopper ca r would be able to stand the impact of shake-out devices that set on top of the car and pound it. This pounding, with the butt joint, is carried directly into the side sheeting rather than through an eccentric joint which is known to ybe tremendously vulnerable to breakage on welded hopper cars with the lap joint. In order to avoid the variation in the width of the flanges of rolled sections, it is the usual practice to lap the side sheeting over the `flange of the side sill and top chord, which makes it necessary during the welding operation to provide an additional position in the shop somewhat longer than the length of the side being welded, and to provide two additional fillet welds, which requires additional welding equipment. With the present arrangement, all the welding is done from one side of the side -girder, resulting in a tremendous saving in cost and space and equipment.

-On a conventional box car the -side sheeting is lapped over the outer face of the vertical lflange of the side sill. This means that there is a crevice between the vertical flange of the side sill and the side sheeting. The side posts also have to be offset or coped out to fit over the lap joint between the side sheeting and side sill. get into the crevice and moisture collects there causing corrosion. By the use of applicants side wall in a box car, there would ybe no crevice, eliminating insect infestation and corrosion, and it would also permit running the side posts of their full section, eliminating offsetting and coping `and providing a stronger construction.

On the conventional covered hopper car there is a lap joint between the -top chord and the side sheeting. The lap joint results in a ledge being formed on the inner face of the side wall which is very difficult to clean for painting and for cleaning the interior of the car when making a change in the commodities handled in the car. Applicants side Wall when used on a covered hopper car, because of the butt-Welding of the top chord to the side sheeting, means that there is no ledge; instead, the inner face of the side wall is flush, providing for easier painting and cleaning and faster and more complete unloading.

The wall of the present invention may be used as a side wall or end wall for covered or open top hopper Insects 6 cars, gondola cars, box cars, refrigerator cars, highway trucks, Iand like vehicles.

While the invention has been disclosed primarily in connection with a side wall, it will be obvious that it is equally applicable to end walls or the like, and it is not intended that it be limited to side walls.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a method of forming a freight vehicle side or end wall enabling the edges of a rolled side sill or end member and a rolled top chord to be satisfactorily automatically welded to the edges of the side or end sheeting, as well as a superior side or end Wall.

What is claimed is:

A freight vehicle Wall comprising a sill having an upstanding flange with its upper edge trimmed to accurate uniform width of said flange throughout at least a portion of its length, a top chord parallelly spaced above said sill and having a downwardly projecting flange with its lower edge trimmed to accurate uniform width of said flange throughout at least a portion of its length, said trimmed edges having clean, substantially parallel surfaces to obtain a more favorable welding condition, a vertically disposed sheet of uniform height of less thickness than said flanges with parallel upper and lower edges, the lower edge of said sheet being secured by butt welding to the trimmed upper edge of said sill flange and the upper edge of said sheet being secured by butt welding to the trimmed lower edge of said top chord flange, the inner surfaces of the flanges and of said sheet being substantially flush and co-planar, said butt welding forming lines of fillet welds on the outer surface of the Wall at the offset junctures formed by the trimmed flange edges of the top chord and the sill with said sheet, and one or more vertically disposed .post members secured respectively to said side sill and top chord members and to said side sheet for reinforcing and stifening the sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,531,290 Lochhead et al Mar. 3l, 1925 1,537,050 Campbell May 5, 1925 1,989,796 Firth Feb. 5, 1935 2,030,748 Gilpin Feb. 11, 1936 2,054,784 Gilpin Sept. 15, 1936 2,076,843 Hindahl Apr. 13, 1937 2,140,268 Moss Dec. 13, 1938 2,214,244 Duryea Sept. 10, 1940 2,263,272 Moss Nov. 18, 1941 2,402,267 Wine June 18, 1946 2,686,480 Johansson Aug. 17, 1954 

